Strauss-Kahn, who was seen as a Socialist contender for the French presidency, was forced to resign as head of the International Monetary Fund last May after he was charged with sexually assaulting a New York hotel maid.

The charges were later dropped, but his career remains dogged by the scandal in France.

Sinclair, a former television anchor and the multi-millionaire heiress to an art fortune, has stood by her husband throughout.

Ferrara told Le Monde the film will be shot in New York, Paris and Washington.

In recent months, the project had been frequently rumoured - and just as frequently denied by Ferrara's producers Wildbunch.

This time however Ferrara confirmed to Le Monde that he was the director and no-one was going to stop him talking about his film.

He met Depardieu at the Deauville Film Festival last September and says he was everything a filmmaker could expect from an actor.

The script is already written, Ferrara added.

Ferrara is perhaps best known for the hard-hitting 1992 film Bad Lieutenant, starring Harvey Keitel as a corrupt New York cop.